CHSRA Recognizes 16 Graduates of Central Valley Training Center

Courtesy of CHSRA

FRESNO, Calif. – California High-Speed Rail Authority recognizes the 12th cohort of the pre-apprenticeship program at the Central Valley Training Center.

California High-Speed Rail Authority recognized 16 students who completed the Central Valley Training Center pre-apprenticeship program. This program lasts 12 weeks and is “aimed at serving veterans, at-risk young adults, minority, and low-income populations in the Central Valley.” The 16-student cohort was honored at the Selma Arts Center in a graduation ceremony. 

Over the course of the program, students learn about 10 construction trades from experts and then exit the program with “several industry-specific certifications and job placement assistance for a year after graduation.” CHSRA attributes the success of the program to the partnerships across the Central Valley and the State. CHSRA reports that the “Central Valley Training Center is a project of the Authority, in partnership with the City of Selma, Fresno Economic Development Corporation, the Fresno, Madera, Kings, Tulare Building Trades Council, and the Fresno Economic Opportunities Commission.”

Tutor-Perini/Zachry/Parsons and Dragados-Flatiron Joint Venture are a couple of the high-speed rail contractors who have committed or interviewed graduates of the program.

Teresa Bynum-Goad hopes to be a carpenter and is a graduate of the Central Valley Training Center. Bynum-Goad said, “It feels weird that I completed the [Central Valley Training Center] program, but I’m excited to see where I end up. I’m excited to get working. My advice to women is to step up and do it. Sometimes the things that scare you the most end up having the best rewards. I started out scared not knowing what I’m getting myself into and now I’m graduating. I’m the first person in my family to do a program like this.”

Sergio Huerta, who hopes to become an electrician, is another graduate of the program and said, “For me, time was ticking and I was looking for an opportunity, a career. I was interested in [joining] a union, but I didn’t know much about it. But once I joined this pre-apprenticeship program, I learned more and more about it. The Central Valley Training Center has helped set me up for a career, a future, and on a path that I want to be.”